6 Best Granola Bars: Fruity, Chocolaty, Nutty, and Even Protein-Packed

The best granola bars are filling, sweet, and portable. They aren’t quite candy bars, but they should definitely be closer to dessert than a bowl of overnight oats. While granola bars aren’t often thought of as an “exciting” snack to eat, our taste tests have shown that there are a few truly wonderful granola bars out there. 

What we looked for in the best granola bars

There’s not really a one-size-fits-all definition for granola bars anymore. Most of them contain oats, which should be wholesome and chewy—not dry or powdery. Many contain nuts, which should be crunchy and toasty. Some contain fruit, which should be vibrant and zippy. And some contain chocolate, which should actually taste like chocolate, not wax. 

We searched for all manner of granola bar in our taste tests. We looked for chocolaty granola bars, fruity granola bars, extra nutty granola bars—we even searched for the best protein granola bars. Sure, we found one granola bar that we consider to be the platonic ideal of granola bars. But if our top pick isn’t your jam, then you’ll find the best granola bar for you on this list. And if there’s a category of granola bar that you think is missing, drop it in the comments and we’ll make it our mission to find the best granola bar for you when we next update this ranking. 

Best granola bars, ranked

Best Chocolate

Fiber One Chewy Bar, Oats and Chocolate

Walmart

I have to be honest: The first thing I noticed about the Fiber One Oats and Chocolate Chewy Bar is that it was much less aesthetically pleasing than the packaging suggested. I deducted a few sporks for the fact that the top of the bar lacked the beautiful chocolate drizzle shown on the box. That being said, Fiber One did bring the chocolate flavor. The bars gave off a wannabe candy vibe in a good way. They’re definitely one of the best granola bars we tried—-especially if you’re in it for the chocolate. — Jordan Myrick

Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks

Best Nut-Free Granola Bar

Made Good Vanilla Flavored Chocolate Drizzled Granola Bars

Target

These MadeGood granola bars are made in a “dedicated nut-free facility,” which is huge for anyone with a nut allergy. They’re also organic, kosher, and gluten-free. The best part? They taste great! They’re lightly chocolaty and pleasantly oaty. They’re chewy without being too chewy. These would be great to send in a lunchbox to school since they don’t contain any of the top eight allergens (egg, tree nut, soy, wheat, etc.). — Jordan Myrick

Credit: Liv Averett / Target

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Best Allergy Friendly

MadeGood Mixed Berry

Walmart

This granola bar is nut-free, gluten-free, soy-free, dairy-free, egg-free, and sesame-free (it’s also fish- and shellfish-free, though I hope that applies to all of the granola bars on this list). So, what actually goes into it? Gluten-free oats, brown rice crisps, raisins, dried cranberries, currants, freeze dried raspberries, agave syrup, and not much else. It’s chewy and tastes like a grocery store blueberry muffin. I wish there was a bit more texture of some sort. But for a bar with just 6g of sugar that’s super allergy-friendly, it’s hard to do better. Along with the vanilla and chocolate version, this is the best granola bar to buy if you can’t eat a lot of things (or if you just like a berry-flavored bar!). And I also think a box of these would make for the best granola bars for hiking, since there’s no melty chocolate involved. — Justine Sterling

Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks

Best Classic Granola Bar

Sunbelt Bakery Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

Walmart

As soon as I took a bite, I knew this Sunbelt Bakery Chocolate Chip Granola Bar would be at the top of our list. It’s easily one of the best granola bars we tasted. This bar has the perfect texture: It’s soft but firm and loaded with chewy oats. Like sprinkles on an ice cream cone, the chocolate chips stud the bar adding a mild flavor and pleasing texture. Don’t worry, though. If you’re looking for a granola bar that’s main focus is the granola, this bar maintains an extremely tasteful granola to chocolate ratio. — Jordan Myrick

Credit: Ryan Martin / Walmart

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Best Protein Granola Bars

Nature Valley Protein Peanut, Almond & Dark Chocolate

Amazon

At 10g of protein per bar, these are the best granola bars to buy if you need a punch of protein but don’t want to go full protein bar. They’re chewy, sweet, salty, and seriously packed with crunchy nuts (almonds, peanuts, and sunflower seeds). While many granola bars barely register when you eat them, this one is filling. I’m stocking up on these for my earthquake kit (which I will 100% raid before the Big One even hits). — Justine Sterling

Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks

Best of the Best

Nature Valley Sweet & Salty Nut Almond Granola Bars

Target

This is the best granola bar I’ve ever had in my entire life. I would happily grab one for a quick breakfast or easy snack. As promised, they are sweet and salty, while also packing a flavor punch of oat and big, crunchy almonds. The almond butter dip that coats the bottom of the bar tastes more like frosting than almond butter, and that’s exactly the way I like it. — Jordan Myrick

Credit: Ryan Martin / Target

Rating:

10/10

Sporks

Other granola bars we tried: 

Great Value Chewy Granola Bars, Quaker Chewy Granola Bars, Nature Valley Chewy Granola Bars, Cascadian Farm Chocolate Chip Granola Bars, KIND Dark Chocolate Chunk Granola Bars, Annie’s Organic Chewy Granola Bars, Kashi Chewy Granola Bars, Sunbelt Bakery Oats & Honey Granola Bars, MadeGood Chocolate Chip Granola Bars, Signature Select Sweet & Slaty Chewy Granola Bars, Pamela’s Chocolate Chip Coconut Whenever Bars, Healthy Crunch Chocolate Strawberry Granola Bars, Nature Valley Sweet & Salty Nut Turtle, Nature Valley Protein Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate, Nature Valley Protein Salted Carmel Nut, Kodiak Protein Packed Chewy Granola Bar Chocolate Chip, Quaker Protein Granola Bars Peanut Butter & Chocolate, Three Wishes S’Mores, MadeGood Cookies & Creme, Junkless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip